Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
Lloyd AustinOvernight Defense: Pentagon Chief removes hundreds of advisory panels | Defense choice discusses Trump’s transition hurdles | Aircraft carrier returning home after 10 months of deployment Aircraft carrier returning home after 10 months of monitoring Iran’s Secretary of Defense removes hundreds of members of the advisory board in broad review MORE on Wednesday he ordered a “withdrawal” of the entire U.S. army to deal with extremism in the ranks, an issue that has long baffled Pentagon leaders, but which surfaced after the US Capitol violation on 6 January.
The Defense Department still has few details about Austin’s decision, which came after he met with the Chief of Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mark Milley
Mark MilleyOvernight Defense: FEMA asks the Pentagon for help with vaccinations | US says Taliban ‘failed to keep its commitments’ | Army investigates Fort Hood Pentagon chaplain: Taliban ‘failed to meet commitments’ under withdrawal agreement Defense overnight: Biden suspends Trump’s transgender military ban | Democrats and defenders celebrate end of ban | 5,000 guards staying in DC until mid-March MORE and service secretaries and chiefs on Wednesday morning. Leaders are expected to hold “necessary discussions” with subordinates about extremism for the next 60 days, department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.
Kirby added that more details are yet to come and that the leadership has yet to provide specific guidance on expectations for dismissal. He couldn’t tell what Austin hopes to learn from the effort or his plans for later.
“One of the reasons why the secretary wants to make this withdrawal is to see the extent of the problem. . . . We don’t want to overestimate or underestimate the number of people it can affect, ”he said.
“It may be more than we are comfortable to hear and admit and probably much less than the media attention around us seems to suggest it could be. But where is it? It is unclear. “
The change is a direct result of the events of January 6, when supporters loyal to the former President Trump
Donald TrumpGeorgia State Secretary opens investigation into Lin Wood over allegations of illegal Schiff voting lobbying for Newsom to be named California AG – including some active service members and veterans – violently invaded the United States Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s electoral victory.
After the uprising, it was discovered that almost 1 in 5 people accused of connection to the riot have some sort of military record.
Austin, the country’s first Black Defense secretary, promised during his confirmation hearing that he would fight to “rid our ranks of racists and extremists”. The Pentagon, however, has little information about the depth of the problem, making the action difficult.
It is not clear whether the Pentagon tracks how many of its service members have white nationalist or other extremist ideologies or how many troops have been flagged or disciplined for extremist behavior.
Of the few data points available are those provided by the FBI for 2020, which found that of the 143 investigation notifications that the Pentagon received from the ex-military and current office, 68 concerned cases of domestic extremism.
Defense officials have struggled for years to understand the issue of extremism among their service members, although the January 6 events “brought great relief and it is very clear that it is something we have not resolved,” said Kirby.
Current Department of Defense policy expressly prohibits the military from actively defending and participating in the doctrine, ideology or causes of supremacist, extremist or criminal gangs, including fundraising or demonstration at a rally as part of such groups, recruitment, training, organization or leadership of members distributing material.
But Kirby said that there is still no uniform understanding among the military about how to define extremism and whether it includes belonging to a racist or violent ideological group like the Proud Boys – a relatively new organization – or whether it includes believing or spreading patently false conspiracy theories. , such as those defended by QAnon defenders. Austin hopes the fall will help the Pentagon find the answer.
“[Austin] he’s also frustrated that it’s a problem and that we don’t have better visibility, better understanding of it, ”said Kirby.